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Geolink Compass calibration north equals 90 degrees??

Posted: Wed 08. Jan 2025 0:48:48
by HeliSteve
Hello All.

I have a new Spirit 2 and Geolink system and I am confused why the compass reading should be 90 degrees when pointing north. Shouldn't it be 0 degrees? Can someone explain to me why this is?

Second: When I finish the compass calibration I had a reading of 189 degrees. So about 100 degrees off if I go by the manual. What would cause this?

Thank you for any help clearing this up.

Steve

Re: Geolink Compass calibration north equals 90 degrees??

Posted: Wed 08. Jan 2025 4:01:03
by raceboy1
I did the same thing. Make sure the picture of the GeoLink is oriented correctly and also make sure the nose is pointing to the north.

Re: Geolink Compass calibration north equals 90 degrees??

Posted: Wed 08. Jan 2025 15:45:03
by HeliSteve
Picture matches my orientation. I was pointed north, but it's hard to move a 600 sized heli around in a sphere. I did read where you took your Geolink off and did the calibration (I think it was you). I am going to try that. Thanks for the reply.

Re: Geolink Compass calibration north equals 90 degrees??

Posted: Thu 09. Jan 2025 7:13:10
by Uplate
I have seen people put the Rx ,battery, fbl, and geolink on a plank of wood to calibrate before installing.

Re: Geolink Compass calibration north equals 90 degrees??

Posted: Thu 09. Jan 2025 17:42:21
by Storchy
I always calibrate the Gellink with a long cable like
https://store.spirit-system.com/en/acce ... ngth-50_cm
so i can move the geolink in all direction without any problem.

Re: Geolink Compass calibration north equals 90 degrees??

Posted: Fri 10. Jan 2025 10:45:12
by ZeXx86
It should be 90° +/- 4° when heading to North (front of the model correspond to arrow direction).
Never use digital compass for comparison, these are often very inaccurate, especially from smartphones and are not calibrated.

Technically it should be impossible to have reading like you can see after calibration. If so, I guess there is a strong magnet/magnetized metal nearby GeoLink.

Re: Geolink Compass calibration north equals 90 degrees??

Posted: Mon 13. Jan 2025 1:38:42
by HeliSteve
Thanks Uplate and Storchy for your replies.

If I would have known the compass was such a pain to calibrate I would have done it before mounting everything else. Now I know.

I did buy another system from a guy on Facebook that should arrive soon. Once that is here I can try to calibrate the compass while mounted to a small platform as suggested.

@ZeXx86, I must ask why you guys decided to mount the compass in a way that it does not face north when mounted to the heli frame? To my knowledge you are the only people who do this.

Thank you,

Steve

Re: Geolink Compass calibration north equals 90 degrees??

Posted: Mon 13. Jan 2025 21:52:44
by msromike
It needs to be calibrated in it's permanent orientation in the helicopter AND in the final EMI field it will operate in. That means all helicopter electronic components installed, Geolink 2 installed, and everything powered on. It would be best to have the motor running as well, but that is obviously not possible. My 2 cents at least. That's how they do it in boats and full scale aircraft.

Re: Geolink Compass calibration north equals 90 degrees??

Posted: Fri 17. Jan 2025 6:32:54
by Uplate
I know the H1 is a different system but I wonder if Geolink could calibrate this way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCRKxHoKvtU

Re: Geolink Compass calibration north equals 90 degrees??

Posted: Fri 17. Jan 2025 9:41:39
by EPCONCEPT
I completed it without any problems when I was mounted on a helicopter
Turn the nose north and it will be 90 degrees
I rotated it in all directions